1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus provided with a display unit for displaying an image.
2. Related Background Art
Recent progress in communication technology has realized, in addition to the conventional telephone apparatus for conversation only, a television telephone apparatus capable of taking the image of the user and transmitting the information of said image to another telephone unit.
In the conventional television telephone apparatus, the user can monitor, by looking at a display provided on the telephone apparatus, how the user is viewed by the television camera.
Conventionally, the television camera reads the image by scanning from top left position to bottom right position as shown in FIG. 7, and the display unit displays the image by scanning from top left position to bottom right position, corresponding to the entered image signal. Consequently, when the user takes himself with the television camera and monitors the image on the display, the image appears laterally inverted.
More specifically, an object 13, shown in FIG. 8A, taken with the television camera appears on the display unit as shown in FIG. 8B.
Such laterally inverted image appears quite unnatural, because the user is accustomed to his image in the mirror. If the user wishes to move the image 13A on the display unit in a direction a or b as shown in FIG. 8B, the user has to move respectively in a direction A or B in FIG. 8A. However, because of the usual habit in the mirror, the user tends to move in the direction B or A whereby the image 13A move respectively to the direction b or a, contrary to the intention of the user.
For this reason the proper positioning of the image 13A is quite difficult, and the operability of the apparatus has been far from satisfaction.